Shardul Thakur played a crucial first innings at the Gabba to clinch the series in 2020/2021. The score was 186/6 when the all-rounder came to the crease. He teamed up with Washington Sundar to form a crucial partnership of 123 runs to take India close to Australia’s first innings target of 369 runs.
“Rohit was speaking to me in sign language from the dugout. He would signal when a bowler was tired or nearing the end of his spell. Like, I think that happened when the Hazelwood spell was coming to an end. Rohit asked me to wait and not pressure him to play shots,” Shardul revealed about his counter-attacking 67 while talking to The Cricket Monthly.
Shardul played some aggressive shots against Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon. The 33-year-old player said that he took inspiration from Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara. “In the previous Test, I saw how Pujara tackled Lyon in Sydney when the ball was moving square. He was using his feet a lot – coming out but also going deep into his crease.
“And initially when I faced Lyon, I tried to stay deep in my crease, but I realized that if I got trapped there he could take me out, with the tempting line and length – you’d try to push the ball towards cover and get one. Nick against a ball that spins, and short leg comes into play,” he added.
“So I thought the best way was to use my legs. With the kind of field placement he had, I was trying to go offside when I came out against the turn. But that delivery was right in the slot (to go to long-on),” added Shardul. Latest Despite a fruitful series, Shardul was not selected for the series against Australia and was also ignored by the franchises in the recently concluded Indian Premier League auction.
Why should you buy our membership?
You want to be the smartest in the room.
You want access to our award-winning journalism.
You don’t want to be confused and misinformed.
Choose your subscription package